Postal workers across Canada are preparing to vote on Canada Post’s latest contract offer, and David McLeod, president of CUPW Local 802 in Portage la Prairie, says concerns are growing among members.
Voting is scheduled to begin on July 21 and will be open until Aug. 1. The vote, conducted by phone and email, is being organized by the Canada Industrial Relations Board. A simple majority will determine whether the proposed collective agreement is accepted.
McLeod says the union has been waiting weeks for this vote and that more details about the employer’s proposal have surfaced in the meantime.
“It’s still the same proposal that we’ve been waiting to vote on for about a month now,” he notes. “The longer we wait, the more information is coming out about what’s in the proposal.”
He points to specific issues that have raised red flags for the union.
“Some stuff that’s come to light is job security,” McLeod adds. “One of the other major things that’s come to light is that any grievances that have been filed, basically regarding anything, a lot of will be just thrown out and started all over again.”
He says there are also questions about whether workers would be allowed to refile those same grievances under the new terms, if accepted.
Union encourages members to vote no
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has publicly urged its members to vote against the current offer.
McLeod says that recommendation is being echoed at the local level.
“Yeah, 100%,” he remarks. “If we vote yes to this contract, they’re basically just throwing their jobs away because it’ll give the corporation the ability to just cut jobs whenever they want, wherever they want. Cut wages if they want.”
He says the union believes the proposal would weaken long-standing worker protections and pave the way for major changes that don’t serve its members.
What happens next is still unclear
When asked what happens if the offer is rejected, McLeod says that’s still uncertain.
“I know the union is hoping that if the offers are rejected that they’ll get back to the bargaining table.”
Still, he’s not overly optimistic about how the process will unfold.
“I think everybody that’s been paying attention knows that they’ve had almost two years to get this done and they haven’t,” McLeod continues. “My hope would be that if it gets rejected that the government will step in right away and just send it to arbitration.”
Final offer details
Canada Post’s final offer to CUPW-represented employees includes wage increases totaling 13.59% over four years, signing bonuses of $1,000 for full-time staff and $500 for others, and continued protection of defined benefit pensions and job security.
The proposal also introduces new part-time positions with benefits to support weekend parcel delivery, along with phased changes to the delivery model aimed at easing workloads and growing the parcel business.
Canada Post says these changes are critical to stabilizing its finances and ensuring long-term sustainability amid mounting losses and shifting customer demands.
Strike unlikely, but tension remains
Although the last contract dispute led to a strike and lockout in late 2024, McLeod says a repeat of that situation doesn’t seem likely.
“I don’t really see a way that a strike would happen now. That’s not saying that a lockout maybe isn’t possible, but I certainly don’t see the union striking on this.”
In the meantime, he says postal workers locally are simply eager for closure.
“To a certain degree everyone just kind of wants it over with,” McLeod says. “It’s been a long fight and a long battle, and I think people are just tired of hearing about it, talking about it.”
“Anywhere you go now, if people know that you’re a postal worker, they’re asking about it. We’re just ready for some resolution.”
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